Week 9 College Football Picks and Results

Predictions
Thursday
Boston College at Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech has quite the reputation of dominating in Blacksburg on Thursday night. While I don't think they'll "dominate" against Boston College, I do think that their defense, special teams, and the home crowd will be too much for the untested and 2nd ranked Golden Eagles. The 2nd ranked team has lost in three successive weeks. Make that four with Tech's win on Thursday night at home.
Virginia Tech 24 Boston College 17
Boston College 14 Virginia Tech 10 (0-1)

Air Force at New Mexico: This is a big game in the MWC, as Air Force strolls in at 6-2 and the Lobos at 5-2. The Falcons have been playing much better in recent weeks, including their big 20-12 win over then 4-2 Wyoming last weekend. Look for more of the same against the Lobos, who have played a rather soft schedule thus far.
Air Force 20 New Mexico 13
New Mexico 34 Air Force 31 (0-2)

Friday
Boise State at Fresno State: If this took place 2-3 weeks ago and on the Blue Field, I'd pick Boise State, without question, but their defense has been playing less than stellar the past couple of games, allowing 67 points to Nevada and then 31 more points to Louisiana Tech, teams who have gone a combined 5-9 thus far this season. Fresno State, meanwhile, is a very young team, but has been improving on both sides of the ball in recent weeks and with the game at home, I look for the Bulldogs to improve to 6-2 with an upset win over the Broncos.
Fresno State 38 Boise State 31
Boise State 34 Fresno State 21 (0-3)

Saturday
Pittsburgh at Louisville: The officials were not on Louisville's side last week in their "loss" to UConn, while Pitt finally played well against a quality opponent in Cincinnati. With the game in Kentucky and their team much more veteran, especially on the offensive end, I look for the Cardinals to rebound from their con job against UConn to improve to 5-4 on the season.
Louisville 38 Pittsburgh 24
Louisville 24 Pittsburgh 17 (1-3)

North Carolina at Wake Forest: Carolina has been anything but an easy victory this year. While they're just 2-5, they've lost to the likes of: Virginia (7-1), Virginia Tech (6-1), South Carolina (6-2), and East Carolina (4-4) by a combined 18 points. Wake has gone 5-0 since they started the year 0-2 without their starting quarterback, Riley Skinner. With the game at home, I look for these trends to continue. Wake wins a nail-biter.
Wake Forest 31 North Carolina 24
Wake Forest 37 North Carolina 10 (2-3)

West Virginia at Rutgers: Both clubs are coming off impressive victories this past week, as Rutgers beat then undefeated South Florida 30-27 and West Virginia racked up 28 first quarter points against then 4-3 Mississippi State. It's tough for me to pick against Greg Schiano's club at home, but the Mountaineers' starting offense looked truly dominant against the Bulldogs this past weekend (in the first quarter plus) and I have a feeling their speed will be a bit too much for the Scarlet Knights' defense to handle.
West Virginia 34 Rutgers 28
West Virginia 31 Rutgers 3 (3-3)

Indiana at Wisconsin: This is the third consecutive week Indiana will have had an opportunity to attain bowl eligibility with their 6th win of the season and for the third straight week, they'll fail to earn that victory. Wisconsin wins at Camp Randall to improve to 7-2.
Wisconsin 31 Indiana 20
Wisconsin 33 Indiana 3 (4-3)

Ball State at Illinois: The Illini better not fall asleep in this game, but with it being in Champaign, I give them the edge, to improve to 6-3 on the season and earn bowl eligibility for the first time under Ron Zook.
Illinois 38 Ball State 24
Illinois 28 Ball State 17 (5-3)

Michigan State at Iowa: The Spartans are coming off a very disappointing seven-point loss to top-ranked Ohio State this past weekend, but even a let-down shouldn't phase them in this game against Iowa, who is coming off a six-point performance offensively against Purdue, who allowed 71 points the previous two weeks against Ohio State and Michigan.
Michigan State 24 Iowa 13
Iowa 34 Michigan State 27 2OT (5-4)

Northwestern at Purdue: The Wildcats are winners of three straight and may have the offensive firepower (along with Purdue's awful defense) to make things interesting in West Lafayette, but they won't have enough to earn the victory.
Purdue 49 Northwestern 35
Purdue 35 Northwestern 17 (6-4)

Colorado at Texas Tech: The Buffs are not playing in Boulder, so their defense may not be up to par in this one and facing a ticked off Red Raiders' offense won't be much help. Tech wins big.
Texas Tech 42 Colorado 20
Colorado 31 Texas Tech 26 (6-5)

Mississippi State at Kentucky: If this game were played in Starkville, I'd be tempted to go with the Bulldogs, because let's face it, Kentucky has squared off against: South Carolina (6-2), LSU (7-1), and Florida (5-2) the past three weeks and may be a bit let down this week against an opponent not of equal quality to the previous three. But, with it being at home, I'm going with Andre' Woodson to maintain his focus and lead the Wildcats to a hard fought victory.
Kentucky 31 Mississippi State 20
Mississippi State 31 Kentucky 14 (6-6)

Akron at Buffalo: With the game at home and it being against a MAC conference opponent, I look for Turner Gill's Bulls to improve to 4-1 in conference with a big win over the Mighty Zips.
Buffalo 31 Akron 24
Buffalo 26 Akron 10 (7-6)

Central Michigan at Kent State: The Chippewas appear to be one team in conference play and a completely different team out of conference. With this being a MAC game, against the 3-5 Golden Flashes, I look for CMU to win comfortably.
Central Michigan 45 Kent State 24
Central Michigan 41 Kent State 32 (8-6)

Florida International at Arkansas: The Razorbacks have not played the toughest schedule in I-A thus far and that trend isn't altering any this Saturday, as they face a club who has gone a combined 0-19 the past year plus. Make that 0-20, as Arkansas clobbers FIU.
Arkansas 59 Florida International 10
Arkansas 58 Florida Internationa 10 (9-6)

Iowa State at Missouri: Don't look for ISU to compete as much in Columbia as they did last weekend against Oklahoma. Missouri wins and wins big.
Missouri 41 Iowa State 13
Missouri 42 Iowa State 28 (10-6)

Miami (Ohio) at Vanderbilt: This could be let-down Saturday for Vanderbilt, coming off a huge upset win over South Carolina last weekend. But, with it being a home game against the Red Hawks, I don't look for that to occur. The Commodores improve to 5-3.
Vanderbilt 31 Miami (Ohio) 10
Vanderbilt 24 Miami (Ohio) 13 (11-6)

UNLV at Wyoming: Wyoming has run into some rough luck as of late, falling to Air Force by eight points this past weekend. UNLV has played very poorly since their near upset of Wisconsin in the early part of the season, losing rather handily to then winless Colorado State this past Saturday. Keeping all that in mind, I look for the Cowboys to win at home and improve to 5-3 on the season.
Wyoming 27 UNLV 13
Wyoming 29 UNLV 24 (12-6)

SMU at Tulsa: Tulsa may not have looked too solid last weekend in their 21-point loss to Central Florida, but against one-win SMU this upcoming Saturday, they'll appear to be a completely different team. The Golden Hurricane is sited at Southern Methodist University at a level 5 and Tulsa rips apart the Mustangs.
Tulsa 45 SMU 24
Tulsa 29 SMU 23 (13-6)

Arizona at Washington: Arizona could be seen as quite the relief for Washington, who has, to this point, played the toughest schedule in all of college football. Will UW be so exhausted from that horrendous schedule that they won't play their A game this upcoming Saturday against the 2-6 Wildcats? It may be tougher than what one would think, but John Locker leads his Huskies to a victory which snaps their five-game losing skid.
Washington 27 Arizona 20
Arizona 48 Washington 41 (13-7)

Louisiana Tech at Utah State: Utah State is one of three winless I-A teams left in college football. I look for them to be winless after this weekend as well. The Bulldogs have too much offensive firepower for the hapless Aggies to counter.
Louisiana Tech 34 Utah State 24
Louisiana Tech 31 Utah State 21 (14-7)

USC at Oregon: Since many are probably picking against USC in this game due to their dreadful performances in their previous three Pac-10 games, I should just pick them for that sake alone, but I have a difficult time believing these inconsistent Trojans have enough, especially on the offensive end, to counter the explosive Ducks' attack at Autzen Stadium. I've gotta go with the green and yellow.
Oregon 38 USC 31
Oregon 24 USC 17 (15-7)

Memphis at Tulane: This is a coin-flipper. I'm just going to go with the 3-4 Tigers of Memphis. I respect their coach, Tommy West, so sure, I'll go with them...
Memphis 38 Tulane 35
Memphis 28 Tulane 27 (16-7)

South Florida at Connecticut: Both Big East schools come into this one at 6-1, South Florida falling 30-27 last Thursday night at Rutgers and Connecticut, with the aid of a few referees, upending Louisville 21-17 on Friday night. That's the second time this season UConn has been aided by the refs for a victory (remember the Temple game?). Unless they pay off the refs once again, I look for South Florida to rebound and improve to 7-1.
South Florida 27 Connecticut 13
Connecticut 22 South Florida 15 (16-8)

Florida at Georgia: Florida improves their BCS status even further with a big win between the Hedges. With two consecutive victories over the likes of Kentucky and Georgia, it doesn't put out of the realm of possibility a two-loss Gator team from earning a bid into the title game. They've a long way to go...but this of all years, you never know.
Florida 24 Georgia 17
Georgia 42 Florida 30 (16-9)

Clemson at Maryland: With the game on the road and Tommy Bowden's impatient bunch on offense playing against a rather pesky Maryland squad, I look for the Terps to frustrate the Tigers' into forcing some turnovers in their upset win over Clemson.
Maryland 27 Clemson 24
Clemson 30 Maryland 17 (16-10)

Minnesota at Michigan: Considering Minnesota fell to I-AA North Dakota State last week and Michigan won their sixth straight game, in Champaign, without their stud tailback Mike Hart, I have a very difficult time seeing the Gophers be competitive in this one, let alone win.
Michigan 48 Minnesota 20
Michigan 34 Minnesota 10 (17-10)

UAB at East Carolina: Skip Holtz's Pirates should rebound from a poor showing last weekend against North Carolina State to improve to 5-4 and maintain their lead in Conference USA.
East Carolina 31 UAB 21
East Carolina 41 UAB 6 (18-10)

Nebraska at Texas: Well, following a 0-2 start in conference play, Texas had the benefit of playing the two worst Big XII conference teams (Iowa State and Baylor) to even their Big XII record at 2-2. Now, they face arguably the third worst team in conference, in Nebraska, and things will be more difficult in this game than their previous two, but with it being in Austin, I still see the Longhorns coming out on top.
Texas 31 Nebraska 21
Texas 28 Nebraska 25 (19-10)

Western Michigan at Eastern Michigan: West Coast vs. East Coast. I've always been more of a West Coast kind of guy, so I'm going with the Broncos over the Eagles.
Western Michigan 20 Eastern Michigan 17
Eastern Michigan 19 Western Michigan 2 (19-11)

Baylor at Kansas State: K-State lost a 41-39 heart-breaker to Oklahoma State last weekend in Stillwater. Fortunately, for them anyway, they're playing in Manhattan and fortunately, again for them, they don't have to face an offense this weekend with near the potency of the before-mentioned Cowboys. Wildcats win comfortably.
Kansas State 31 Baylor 9
Kansas State 51 Baylor 13 (20-11)

Louisiana-Monroe at Florida Atlantic: Howard Schnellenberger's Owls are unbeaten in conference and I look for them to continue that streak against the War Hawks of 2-5 Louisiana-Monroe.
Florida Atlantic 24 Louisiana-Monroe 14
Louisiana Monroe 33 Florida Atlantic 30 3OT (20-12)

Idaho at Nevada: Colin Kaepernick and the Wolfpack will run wild on the Vandals' defense, or lack there of, to even their record for the first time this season, at 4-4.
Nevada 41 Idaho 21
Nevada 37 Idaho 21 (21-12)

Virginia at North Carolina State: This is actually a tough game to pick. That's difficult to believe, in that UVA is 7-1 and winners of seven straight and NC State is just 2-5. But, UVA has won ugly and won ugly all year long, while NC State attained their first victory over a I-A team this past weekend in their victory over then 4-3 East Carolina. With the game at home, I look for Tom O'Brien to attain his first ACC victory as North Carolina State head coach in an upset.
North Carolina State 20 Virginia 17
North Carolina State 29 Virginia 24 (22-12)

Rice at Marshall: Can Marshall garner their first victory of the season? They've been so close on a couple of occasions this year, including last week's 33-24 loss to Southern Miss. But, here it is. This could be it. I look for Marshall quarterback, Morris, to have a big day with both his arm and his legs as the Thundering Herd remove their name from the list of the winless with a conference win against the one-win Rice Owls.
Marshall 31 Rice 27
Marshall 34 Rice 21 (23-12)

Utah at Colorado State: Figures...the week I decide to give up on Colorado State, they clobber their opponent, that being UNLV. Well, I'm again giving up on them this weekend, as 5-3 Utah strolls into Fort Collins. Utes earn their sixth win of the year to become bowl eligible.
Utah 34 Colorado State 24
Utah 27 Colorado State 3 (24-12)

Mississippi at Auburn: Auburn will be let-down from their heart-breaking loss to LSU last Saturday night, but with the game at home, I look for the Tigers to give the Rebels another tough loss.
Auburn 20 Mississippi 10
Auburn 17 Mississippi 3 (25-12)

Ohio at Bowling Green: I'm done showing faith in Frankie's Bobcats. They fall yet again, this time to the Falcons on the road. Ohio may be able to score a few, but they can't seem to hold their opponents to under 30. Look for more of the same.
Bowling Green 38 Ohio 27
Ohio 38 Bowling Green 27 (25-13)

Stanford at Oregon State: The Trojan killers of the past two years goto battle in Corvallis. With the game being in Corvallis, I look for the well rested Beavers to upend the Cardinal.
Oregon State 31 Stanford 24
Oregon State 23 Stanford 6 (26-13)

UCLA at Washington State: This is a dangerous game for UCLA. Why do I say that? Sure, they can beat the USC's, the Cal's, etc. But, Utah and Notre Dame, who are a combined 6-10? Not so fast. Now they goto Pullman to take on the 2-5 Cougars, who are coming off a bye week and attempting to save their head coach, Bill Doba's, job. But, it does appear (knocks on wood) that UCLA has been a bit more focused with their in-conference games than their non-conference ones. I'm nervous about this pick, but I'm going with the Bruins.
UCLA 24 Washington State 17
Washington State 27 UCLA 7 (26-14)

Kansas at Texas A&M: Even with the 12th man at College Station, I like how Mark Mangino's offense matches up with the A&M defense (wrecking crew no more) more so than that option attack of Stephen McGee, Jorvorskie Lane and company against the Jayhawk defense. Kansas improves to 8-0 on the season.
Kansas 27 Texas A&M 20
Kansas 19 Texas A&M 11 (27-14)

Middle Tennessee at North Texas: The Blue Raiders are coming on strong at 3-5 after starting the season 0-4, while North Texas, to put it simply, is not good. MTSU improves to 4-5 with another Sun Belt conference win.
Middle Tennessee 31 North Texas 13
Middle Tennessee 48 North Texas 28 (28-14)

Troy at Arkansas State: This is a dangerous game for 5-2 Troy, a club who has won five consecutive games since their two losses against Florida and Arkansas. Arkansas State has not played up to their potential in the past three weeks, but will provide the Trojans with their toughest conference challenge yet. The Trojans should triumph in the end, but should be on upset alert as well.
Troy 31 Arkansas State 17
Troy 27 Arkansas State 0 (29-14)

Northern Illinois at Toledo: Northern Illinois is 1-7 and I'll be hard-pressed to pick them the rest of the season, unless they play against Florida International. Toledo should win and improve to 4-5 on the season.
Toledo 28 Northern Illinois 17
Toledo 70 Northern Illinois 21 (30-14)

South Carolina at Tennessee: A game of mysteries right here. South Carolina's defense has played rather stingily throughout the season, even in their 17-6 loss to Vandy this past Saturday. But, where has their offense gone? Since leading North Carolina 21-0 in the second quarter a couple weeks ago, they've been outscored 32-6 in the past 6+ quarters. Meanwhile, Tennessee's defense has gone missing again. They dominated Georgia three weeks back, beat Mississippi State two weeks ago, allowing just 35 points in those two outings, and then allowed 41 to Alabama this past Saturday. In their three losses this season, the Vols have allowed: 45 (to Cal), 59 (to Florida), and 41 (to 'Bama). I have a feeling that Spurrier will be more likely to shape his offensive group up against the woeful Vols' defense than Fulmer finding a way to amp his defense up into a solid showing against the Gamecocks. I'm taking South Carolina to rebound from last week's loss in this one.
South Carolina 31 Tennessee 24
Tennessee 27 South Carolina 24 OT (30-15)

Duke at Florida State: Duke isn't a club to be taken lightly this year and should hang around until about halftime, but FSU will pull away in the second half, led by Drew Weatherford.
Florida State 24 Duke 13
Florida State 25 Duke 6 (31-15)

Ohio State at Penn State: I don't know, call it a gut feeling, but I'm going with the Nittany Lions in this one. That's right, I'm picking the top two ranked teams to go down this upcoming weekend. Ohio State will face their first tough road test of the season, a night game in Happy Valley, and didn't look too impressive this past Saturday against Michigan State. JoPa will have his troops geared and ready and I think will come out with a huge win on Saturday night.
Penn State 24 Ohio State 20
Ohio State 37 Penn State 17 (31-16)

Houston at UTEP: Whew. Do I have to pick? I think both of these clubs modeled their teams off the old St. Louis Rams' and Kansas City Chiefs' teams. Scoring 40+ points a game is more important (and more likely) than preventing the other team from scoring the same amount or greater! With Houston showing some improvements defensively this past weekend against UAB, I'm going to go out on a limb and pick them on the road in this one.
Houston 45 UTEP 38
Houston 34 UTEP 31 (32-16)

BYU at San Diego State: The clubs are going in completely different directions right now and I look for the trends to stay on course, with the Cougars winning handily.
BYU 31 San Diego State 13
PPD (32-16)

California at Arizona State: With a week off to rest and an underrated rush defense to boot, I look for the Sundevils to send Cal back to Berkeley with their third consecutive loss and to vault ASU to 8-0 on the season.
Arizona State 34 California 27
Arizona State 31 California 20 (33-16)

New Mexico State at Hawaii: Here you have it, the first .500 team Hawaii has faced all year. Although, one has to take into consideration that two of New Mexico State's four wins have come against I-AA competition and they'll be below .500 after their loss to the Warriors late Saturday night.
Hawaii 45 New Mexico State 31
Hawaii 50 New Mexico State 13 (34-16)

Sunday
Central Florida at Southern Mississippi: I'd give the edge to whomever played at home in this one. With the game in Hattiesburg, I'm giving the slight edge to Jeff Bower's Golden Eagles.
Southern Mississippi 31 Central Florida 28
Central Florida 34 Southern Mississippi 17 (34-17)

Ineligible Games
Delaware at Navy
North Carolina Central at Western Kentucky

Week 9 Record: 34-17 (.667)
Overall Record: 287-130 (.688)